A Labor of Love

One of my favorite aspects of summer is fresh produce.  I love making fresh salsa, cucumber salad, and homemade pickles.  Iowa sweet corn is the best there is!  Right now black raspberries are in season.

I've had a small patch of black raspberries in my back yard for almost as long as I can remember.  You won't find black raspberries in stores, because they have a very short shelf life.  But I've made a small tradition of taking my kids to the back yard to pick black raspberries with me, and then my grandkids.  In the early years, the patch was small and only produced a few berries, so we'd just go out and eat them straight off the vine.  Since then, I learned how to tend the canes and the patch has grown noticeably.

A couple of years back, I discovered a wild stash growing in a woody area close to my house, and everything changed. I suddenly found myself with enough berries to do more than eat a small handful every couple of days.  I decided to try my hand at making jam.  I actually started out making a simple sauce to pour over ice cream, using only the berries and just enough honey to lightly sweeten the reduction.  The pivot to jam was a natural progression; I just had to mildly tweak my recipe.

The process was as much about learning as anything else.  For starters, I was not interested in a jam that contained as much sugar as fruit.  But I also learned that a certain amount of pectin, sugar, and lemon juice are all necessary for the jam to gel.  I made three small batches of jam last year, sharing the product with family and close friends, actively soliciting feedback, and refining accordingly.  My final recipe uses about 1/3 of the sugar of recipes I found online, and I believe it's far superior because it focuses on the flavor of the berry instead of maximizing the sweet.

This year's harvest has been the best so far.  I've harvested over a gallon and a half of berries, which will yield about 30 quarter pint jars of homemade black raspberry jam, and the season is not quite finished.  Oh, quick side note, I also found a patch of wild blackberries this year.  I hope to not only harvest them, but also I hope to propagate and transplant a few canes to my back yard.

This is definitely a labor of love.  The short shelf life of a black raspberry means that I need to forage at least every other day.  Daily foraging is better.  Mosquitoes are out in force, especially in the wild patch in the woods.  It's hot, and the wooded area blocks the breeze.  The raspberry bushes in the woods are mixed in with nettles.  Between the nettles and the thorns on the canes, I have to wear jeans.  And it's getting hot!  There have been many times where I've been out foraging in 90+ degree weather with Iowa humidity stacked on top of it.

And the labor doesn't end with the foraging.  I have to freeze the berries so they don't rot.  The foraging window is about a month.  So I have to keep the freezer clear for that time.  Then there's actually making the jam.  I have to do it in small batches, making only six or so jars in a batch, and each batch takes about an hour to an hour and a half to make.  This doesn't include the cost of the sugar, pectin, and jars.

The funniest part is that, while I love raspberries, I don't eat that much jam.  I might eat 3 or 4 jars over the course of a year, but the overwhelming majority is given away.  To me, this is a hobby.  I love the idea of being able to harvest wild edible food, and I enjoy preserving fresh, local produce for use during the cold winter months.  My favorite part though, is sharing my culinary talent with friends and family.

I know several people who can food, but compared to the population at large, even in rural Iowa, I possess a relatively rare skill.  When I give someone a jar of my black raspberry preserves, I share that I forage the berries myself, that I can the jam myself, and that it's my own personal recipe.  I say point blank that what I'm sharing is a labor of love.  It's universally well received and highly appreciated.

It's Not Just Gaming Consoles

I read an article today that said Microsoft is increasing the price of the Xbox console.  I already own the Xbox, and I'm a very casual gamer, so to me this in and of itself isn't a huge deal.  It is, however, a result of a larger supply and demand problem, and the root cause is Artificial Intelligence.  In a nutshell, the AI boom is creating a huge increase in demand for RAM... specifically the RAM needed for video cards.

The thing is, increasing RAM production is not a simple process.  It's wildly expensive to build a new manufacturing plant, and the ongoing costs are expensive as well, because most hardware requires an environment that's for all intents and purposes cleaner than a hospital.

The economic law of supply and demand indicates that if demand increases and supply does not, prices must increase to maintain purchasing equilibrium.  This makes suppliers want to increase supply so they make more money, but as I said, it's not easy in this case.  The end result is that we have higher costs for everything that uses RAM.  This means that gaming consoles and computers cost more.  It's not just gaming consoles.

My big questions are "Is it worth it," and if so "to what extent?"  We as a society are spending billions of dollars to build data centers.  These data centers are consuming vast amounts of natural resources to continually power and cool these data centers.  The payoff is still unproven, and the most widely-seen consequence is a massive disruption in the labor market.

So... big companies are making money hand over fist... real people are losing their jobs... real people are paying higher prices for everything from computers to electricity to water.  I say again... it's not just gaming consoles.  I ask again, is it worth it?  And if so, to what extent? 

Another Personal Best

I bench pressed 160 lbs today.  This may not sound like much, but it's more than I weigh, I'm in late 50s and I've never bench pressed this much in my life.

KISS and Trump

I had a random thought the other day.  Donald Trump is the non-musical version of the band KISS, specifically Gene Simmons.  Think about it... KISS and Trump are both willing to put their name on anything if it will bring them a buck.  KISS toilet seats?  Check.  Trump steaks?  You betcha.  KISS and Trump both think they're the greatest thing since sliced bread.  People that love them, REALLY love them.  People that don't like 'em REALLY don't like 'em.  Simmons and Trump both say they don't drink, smoke or do drugs.  I'm sure there are other similarities.  Feel free to add your own.

I'd love to see a venn diagram of KISS and Trump fans.  I bet there's a lot of overlap.

Tires

I've been driving for well over 40 years.  During that time, I've had too many vehicles to list, and have probably driven over a million miles.  It always kind of amazes me how much of an impact fresh rubber has on how a ride handles.  I got new tires on my Ultra last weekend and man, it almost felt like I had a sport bike.  The handling is so light and responsive!  I'm really looking forward to Tail of the Dragon next month.

My Chair

One of the few things in life I'm finicky about is my spot in the living room.  I have a reclining love seat that's got the perfect view of the TV, great acoustics, and an end table next to me for my beer and snacks.  It's probably the one and only stereotypical behavior I share with TV dads.  Hell, I even defy the stereotype by sharing the remote.

Late last week, the recliner cable broke.  I've developed a habit over the years where I'd kick the recliner into its upright position when standing up, so my redneck repair was to use some creative cable kinking and a little masking tape to hold the cable in an extended position, so the recliner would not stay in the upright position.

The deeper discussion was what to do about the loveseat.  The material is a combination of leather and vinyl.  The vinyl has started to crack and flake away over the years.  The cushioning has collapsed in places, so I sit at kind of a cant.  In the grand scheme of things though, I'm not a "throw it away" guy.  The chair still meets my functional needs.

So, for Father's Day, I ordered a new cable, and it arrived today.  My Father's Day gift to myself was replacing the cable so I can recline again. 

This is a Nice Analogy for the Entire Administration

 For those of you unfamiliar, our illustrious POTUS decided a few months back that the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool urgently needed a paint job.  In typical Trump fashion, he started the project without permission and without following proper channels, and bullied dissent into silence.  He then swore up and down that he could get it done for cheap, because he knows a guy, and he vowed that it would be quality workmanship.

The outcome has been... less than promised.  The cost skyrocketed.  The timeline dragged.  The quality sucks.  In less than a month, paint is already peeling off the reflecting pool.  I've grabbed my popcorn, because I don't want to miss how he tries to spin this.

This whole boondoggle is a nice analogy for his entire presidency... er, presidencies. 

Coming Into Her Own

As I mentioned back in January, I sent my dog Gilmour across the rainbow bridge.  When that happened, I was more than a little concerned how that would impact my other dog, Lainie, who followed Gilmour everywhere.  She had a lot of isolation anxiety and I was worried that she'd go a little crazy if left alone, and destroy my house like she did shortly after I brought her home from the Humane Society almost a decade ago.

That hasn't been the case at all.  She's happy, mellow, and perfectly content to lay next to me while I work.  When I walk her, she's off leash, never running too far before turning around and checking in.  She used to be wary around other dogs, and now she's happy and outgoing.  She still gets nervous during thunderstorms, but even that seems less traumatic than it used to be.  It's wild what a mellow, happy, outgoing girl she's become over the last few months.  She's really coming into her own.

Sick of News

I've hit the point where I'm really sick of consuming news.  I think it's because my definition of news is significantly different that of your average reader.  Does the title of your piece contain words like crushed, owned, humiliated or humiliated?  If so, it's likely I will pass your article, because that's not journalism, that's sensationalism, and it is written for a very specific audience.  Does the title talk about a celebrity who makes an inflammatory comment, or alternatively, talk about vague, unspecified behavior designed to pique the reader's curiosity?  Sorry, not interested.  Unfortunately, it seems that the overwhelming majority of news is written not to enlighten, but to trigger an emotional response.  Congratulations, mass media.  Mission accomplished.  My emotional response is a combination of disgust and fatigue.

Solution in Search of a Problem

I'd like to propose the idea that Artificial Intelligence is a solution in search of a problem.

For years, AI pundits have promised the sun, the moon and the stars.  For mankind, it can find a cure for cancer.  For business, it can automate repetitive tasks currently performed by people.  Spoiler alert:  cancer is still a thing, and each automated job is an unemployed person.

To make matters worse, I have yet to see a definitive return on investment.  Yes, the economy is going gangbusters on this, but I can't help but think back to the dot com bubble.  Here's what I actually see...

People losing their jobs.  There was a socially contracted promise that these folks would be retrained, but what's happened is that low-skill workers have been unable to learn high-skill jobs.

Business has had a difficult time quantifying how AI has improved the bottom line. 

Computer costs are going through the roof due to the insatiable demand for hardware.  Data centers have deep pockets, leaving consumers and small businesses paying a higher cost for no additional benefit.

Data centers promise extra jobs, but in reality that's just construction.  Once the data center is up and running, the additional jobs are a pittance.

Data centers drive up the cost for utilities, such as electricity and water.

Data centers cause huge headaches for area residents due to noise, light, etc.

And the craziest part about this is that we're building a huge infrastructure for an unknown payoff.

Please prove me wrong. 

Sooo Relaxing!

As I mentioned yesterday, wifey and I had a couples massage.  It was great.  It's only the second time in my life I've had a professional massage, and it was most excellent.  I think part of the reason I had gone so long without was because I had a deep tissue massage the first time around, and I left more sore than when I went in, and I was sore for a couple of days.

This time around, I kept the lesson from my first massage and went for a medium pressure massage.  I had fully expected I'd have muscle tightness, even though I do yoga, but I had no idea how much tension my muscles were carrying.  My neck and shoulders in particular still feel crazy relaxed compared to before the massage.  I asked the massage dude what he noticed as a therapist, and he essentially said that I was tense all over.

You may notice that I had a guy do the massage.  I know that some people are weird about having a male masseur, but not me. 

After I got home, I cracked a few beers and relaxed even further, and later on, I made fajitas for dinner.  The fajitas had beef, chicken and shrimp.  Yummy!

Overall, it was sooo relaxing!  I think I'm gonna need to take the wife out and do this again sometime.

Couple Time

Wifey and I have a couples massage today.  I bought her a gift certificate for a couples massage back in April.  I like spoiling her, and I like spending time with her.  It's been a little too long since we've done something like this for absolutely no reason.

I'll let you in on a little secret.  My wife kind of awes me.  I can't believe how consistently kind she is, while at the same time having strength of character and will that's incredibly uncommon.  I'm even more surprised at how well she tolerates my silly ass.

Yep, I'm pretty fortunate. 

It's Just Not Fun Anymore

I'm about ready to hang up my hat with my local Marine Corps League detachment.  Earlier this year, we had a bitter and contested leadership election, and the root of the problem is that the old guard is used to having their way, whereas the current Commandant is trying to bring our detachment into the 21st century and attract younger membership.

Earlier this year, the old guard nominated a challenger to the current Commandant and lost at this year's election.  A couple of guys immediately stopped coming.  A couple of others just successfully pushed through changes to our bylaws, effectively making this our current Commandant's last term.  What they did was change the term limits in our bylaws, reducing the previous four-year limit to a two consecutive term limit.  I have to admit that it was clever.

At the same time, I have several problems with this.  First and foremost, they changed bylaws because they didn't like the outcome of a single election.  That's a huge case of overkill, kind of like an NFL fan pushing through a rule change because his team lost the Super Bowl.  Second, the previous term limit was four years total for an individual and the new term limit is two consecutive years.  For as long as I've been a member of this group, finding people to serve in leadership has been notoriously difficult.  By shortening the term limit, this problem is exacerbated.  Third, the role of Commandant in particular has a learning curve.  The first year is just learning the ropes, and speaking from experience, year three is where you really hit your stride.  This means the rule change will reduce the effectiveness of future leaders.  This, of course, is what the old guard wants.

We have become a microcosmic example of the exact problem that Veteran Service Organizations across the country are experiencing.  We are unable to attract and retain the younger generation of veterans.  This is precisely because the old guard veterans are completely out of touch with the needs and motivations of younger veterans.  We understand the problem and know that we need to change, and meet the younger veterans where they are.  When we do get younger folks, they show up with enthusiasm, but it's quickly crushed by the old guard.  The new guys have ideas about things we can do to bring in more young guys, but the old guys shoot down the ideas, because they're too expensive, or they tried it once before and it didn't work.

And the shit these guys are bitching about is stupid shit!!!  They're getting pissed off over things like place mats at a formal dinner.  They're getting pissed because they're used to their good ol' boys club internally selecting the local Marine of the Year, despite the fact that the nomination process requires submission by members at large.  They're behaving like stereotypical boomers.  They talk about wanting to grow, change, and attract younger members.  But when the rubber meets the road, they're not willing to change or sacrifice anything to achieve the outcome they say they want.  They say they want change, but they mean they want everyone else to change.

I'm proud of being a veteran, and I love serving the veteran community, but I've got to admit that I don't know how much more of this I can stand.  Where I used to look forward to the monthly meetings, and left feeling energized, I'm now feeling a pit in my stomach before the meetings and am consistently leaving with a strong case of the ick.  It's just not fun anymore.

Pride Month

As you're likely aware, June is Pride Month, which according to AI is "...a global observance dedicated to celebrating the LGBTQ+ community..."  I'd like to speak about this for a moment...

When I was a child, it was illegal to be gay, and homosexuality was considered a mental disorder.  While the legal and medical standards changed rapidly in the 1970s, it was still generally considered taboo to to be gay.  I absolutely remember fag and fem being among the worst insults one could hurl at a young male.  Homosexuality could get you thrown out of the military, which was a bit ironic, considering how homoerotic that hyper-masculine environment really was.  And I must admit that I was intolerant of homosexuality in my younger days.  At one point in my early twenties I proudly announced that I was only intolerant of two things -- bigots and faggots.  And yes, I was aware of the irony.  At that stage in my life, I thought I was pretty clever.

My perspective changed when I worked with a guy named Brian Smith.  Brian was one of those guys who neither flaunted nor hid his homosexuality.  I figured he was probably gay, but we never talked about it.  I got to know him as a person and, quite simply, I found his presence enjoyable.  He was fun to be around.  I discovered his homosexuality by seeing a small pin-back button in a drawer at his desk that had a rainbow and said "Sorry girls, I'm gay."  This was not snooping, because I needed to open his drawer for legitimate work, but that's not relevant to the story.  What's important was that I had a passing mundane epiphany.  I could either continue with my gay hating ways, or I could accept his sexuality and move on.  I chose the latter.  Essentially, what had happened was a realization that I could continue living with my prejudice and suddenly start hating a guy based on the fact that he was gay, or I could continue to accept him for who he was, while realizing that part of that identity happened to be that he was gay.  I chose the latter.

This was not a watershed moment in my life.  The entire internal conversation may have taken five seconds.  There was no big change in my personality.  I didn't suddenly transform into a vocal ally.  What happened was that I realized one of my life assumptions was incorrect -- the assumption that homosexuals were somehow deviant, depraved, or inferior -- and I accepted that my old mentality was incorrect as matter-of-factly as if I had discovered that I had the wrong answer on a homework assignment.  I corrected things and moved on.

I'd love to say that moment caused me to accept the transgender community, but that's not what happened.  I still wasn't ready to accept that gender identity may not coincide with biological gender.  And I'll admit that, to this day, I can't quite relate to the gay or transgender identity... except for lesbians.  I totally get why lesbians dig chicks, because I do too.  But the thing is, I've learned to realize that I don't need to understand or relate.  I just need to accept.  I don't need a detailed understanding of the science behind gravity to realize that an apple falling from a tree will always hit the ground.

From my perspective, this is what Pride Month is about.  It's about trying to remind people that, while homosexuality is outside of the mainstream, it's not a deviant behavior that warrants scorn, contempt and hatred from the straight community.  Simply being transgender does not warrant hate and violence.  Sexual preference and gender identity are simply one of countless things that make us all unique, such as biological gender, race, national origin, faith, hair color, and so forth.

I look forward to the day where we can appreciate one another for our character, not our characteristics, but I'm not confident this will happen during my lifetime.  Until that happens though, please know that I will quietly work to advocate for this outcome. 

... Better Than I Can Say It

I read a great critique on Trump MAGA folks today.  Okay, it's not a critique.  It's a brief heartfelt essay that explains why some are having such a difficult time with Trump supporters.  Mike McCready is the author.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with McCready, he founded Pearl Jam, Mad Season and Temple of the Dog.  These are all bands I really appreciate.  And once again, he's found words that have eluded me for years.

Here's his essay...